Tell me about your closest call

[jeffcoslacker]

I really don't have any good stories...I've never been down, and I have gotten in some tight spots, but nothing that made me think "This could be it..."...I usually have a plan, and it always works for me. I really don't like the no-win situation, and work hard to avoid it.

Some people say if you haven't wrecked, you're not pushing it hard enough. I say bullshit, have fun with that philosophy...me, I'm allergic to pain . The fun in motorcycling for me is NOT getting hurt. I think some people use that as an excuse for poor riding skills. Or not so much poor skills, but poor situational awareness or lack of restraint...that's better....it's easier to take pride in your wounds than self-examine to see how you could have avoided them and not made the mistake.

But then again I know some VERY skilled and responsible riders who've gotten caught off guard...so it can happen to anyone I guess...I also often hear "There's two kinds of riders...ones who have been down, and those who will"...again, I say bullshit...not inevitable. I know one guy who has rode every single day of his life (except in hard packed snow) since getting out of the Navy in the 60's...never had an accident, and he's getting up near 70 years old now...hope he stops riding before he wrecks, or he'll screw up my hypothesis ...

Anyway, since I don't have a story but love hearing them, I'll toss out my riding buddy's experience from last summer...

He was riding two-up with his wife, they went on a long ride out west, through Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, etc...he's got a 2003 Fat Boy that's a tasteful mild custom.

While on I-70 east of Denver, he was in the right lane, but needed to get over to the left because there was slow moving trucks coming onto the highway from a scale...

He head-checked behind him, only vehicle was a big truck, and it was quite a ways back...turned on his signal and began moving over...

He said just about the time he was on the dotted lane marker he heard Lisa scream behind him, and felt the bike get shoved hard to the right in the rear, he countered it and kept control, but then heard a loud "ratcheting" type sound and was vaguely aware of a car's front end right up against the bike...but couldn't look, had his hands full maintaining balance...

There was a loud snap, followed by a second bang that felt like it was right under his left foot...he and the car separated, and he made for the shoulder, not knowing if Lisa was OK or not...

The car that hit them stopped, along with the truck and some others who saw what happened...apparently, this young gal was driving in the right lane, approaching them from behind, everyone agreed probably 100 mph or better...she passed the truck that my friend saw to his left behind him, passing on the right, then slashed over into the left lane in front of the truck, then acted as if she was going to cut my friend off by changing lanes right in front of him...

Unfortunately, this all occurred so fast, between the time he looked and the time he began to move over, she was already coming up from behind/left of him, and they collided...the lucky thing was she at least saw it coming, and was standing on the brakes when they hit, so their speeds matched up for the moment they were in contact...

The loud ratcheting sound was Lisa's floorboard actually getting "eaten" by the car's front wheel, the other sounds were the floorboard snapping off the bike, hitting the highway, and ricocheting off the derby cover...dented, but intact...Lisa saw the car's front end and barely had time to lift her leg out of the way before they connected, or she would have gotten a broken ankle or maybe even lost a foot...as it was she said she actually had her foot on the hood of the car momentarily...

Anyway, the driver was arrested for her part in the accident (reckless endangerment or something like that), and my friends, shaken but not harmed, were able to continue on to Denver and get a new floorboard set...there was some other minor cosmetic damage, but that was taken care of after the trip.

That he was able to stay upright and in control is a tribute to his riding skill and experience...and while really he didn't do anything wrong, I made sure he understands one thing we are taught as truck drivers...ALWAYS watch both mirrors all the way through a lane change, never assume ANYTHING...the fucking idiots come outta thin air sometimes...

Ride safe!

...and tell me your story...

[richtazz]

I've had a couple of close calls, but thankfully I've never been down either. I agree that those that ride believing it's inevitable that they will stack are nuts. My advice to new riders to avoid full-faired bikes until they gain experience is more for parking lot incidents than while actually riding.

One of my biggest pet peeves of cagers is their inconsiderate habit of flicking their cigarette butts out the window. That is what the ashtray is for morons!!!! I was riding center lane in heavy traffic on a three lane interstate, and the idiot in front of me tosses out a cigarette butt, not even noticing who or what is behind him. I see it coming, but cannot totally avoid it. As it flies over the edge of my windshield, it gets sucked in the turbulence behind and goes right down the front of my jacket. Keep in mind it's still lit, and I'm in the center lane in heavy traffic. I do my best to get over as quickly as it is safe to do so, and when I finally get to the side of the road, I stop and quickly unzip my jacket. To my amazement, the butt is sitting in a fold of my t-shirt in such a way that nothing got burned (me, the shirt or my jacket lining). The whole time I'm trying to get over I'm just waiting for the pain of it burning me, and since it never happened, I just knew my Brooks leather's lining was toast. Luckily, none of the above happened and I was very lucky.

[aussieidiot]

I guess this is my sportsbike mentality coming through here.

"Dress for the crash not the ride" and "expect to go down someday"

I don't like pain either and try to ride on the street so i don't even use my front brake.

But with traffic in sydney having the mentality of "every man for himself" and trying to get ahead by the smallest gap, I expect to get hit by someone who "doesn't see me"

I've had too many close calls to mention her.

Cars pulling out of service station driveways across double white lines.......
Guy ran a red light..........
Bitch hellbent on hitting me simply because i was in front..........
to name a few

[72chevelleOhio]

I never had a moment where I thought it would be my last.....yet (knock on wood)
I have had a few "brain farts" where I was disappointed in myself....

I have been down twice, both were when I was a teenager. Once, the classic...."too much front brake there, son." (it was low speed, only a couple scratches)
The other time, I thought it would be ok to ride a 1975 Honda 400 through a field. I found a pile of rocks. The rock with my name on it was about 2 and a half feet or so in diameter. It folded the forks back to the frame.
Luckily, a blackberry and sticker bush broke my fall. Otherwise, I could have made it out without a scratch or stains....